A distant rumble of thunder loosened dust from the crevices in the stone ceiling of the corridor outside the medbay. Ben felt trepidation as he led the pair of his companions to the large entrance chamber of the temple of Illephrre. Ethel, the old Priestess, had remained with Ann, Ainsle, and Jor, stating that she’d only be a hindrance in the confrontation. The group entered the large chamber; hundreds of pale, spindly creatures clung to the ceiling, rafters, and upper walls. The ever-burning candles in sconces on the narthex walls flickered and caused shadows to dance ominously in his periphery.
Ben stopped before the chained doors leading to the nave —he had removed most of the large furniture that had blocked the entryway— and turned to face his companions.
He watched as Kieran swept his gaze across the tall ceiling and surrounding walls with wide eyes, his mouth slightly ajar, exposing pointed teeth. “Fascinating,” he said before his gaze settled on Ben. “How do you direct them? Is it an expression of will? Do you incant a word of command?”
Ben hesitated as he attempted to formulate words that would best describe the instinctual ability. “Uh, it’s closer to an expression of will, I guess. I mean, I say the command in my head, and they just… do what I tell them to.”
The Apprentice Necromancer stroked his chin. His long dark nails and curled black horns painted a sinister image, otherworldly, yet handsome nonetheless. “I would love to experiment with your thralls if you’d allow?”
“Hey…” interjected June. “Aren’t there more important things to be doing right now? Like, I don’t know, annihilating some old ladies?”
“Of course,” Kieran said after a cough. He tilted his head toward the young man. “Later, perhaps?”
Ben nodded. “Yeah, sure.” He paused as he glanced at the thick, rusted chains barring their entrance to the nave. “So, here’s my idea of a plan. Feel free to stop me anytime…”
“Blast open the doors and incinerate anything that moves?” The albino Caster supplied cheerfully.
Kieran placed a hand on June’s shoulder. “How about a more… measured approach this time? Ben, you were saying?”
“Right. Kieran, you cast a spell to find corpses on the path this morning,” Ben paused, and the Apprentice nodded. “Do you have anything that could detect people? Living things, human or monster.”
The bronze-skinned man pursed his lips and tilted his head thoughtfully. “Why, yes. I do indeed know a cantrip that could reveal nearby life essence. It has a small area of effect, naturally.”
“How small are we talking?”
“Roughly twenty paces from my position. Any further than that, I’d have to consult one of Master Durrene’s spell tomes, but at this time, that is more or less what I am capable of.”
Ben considered Kieran’s words for a moment as he chewed his lip. “All right, it’ll have to do. I don’t know how big the chamber is.” He paused before glancing at the ceiling. “Can you detect anything from them?” Ben asked and pointed a finger upward.
“Let’s see,” Kieran said as he raised a finger to his temple, eyes closed. “Detect life,” he incanted. After a beat of silence, the Apprentice Necromancer frowned.
“What is it?” asked June.
“Hmm,” Kieran said, eyes still closed. “Odd. If Ben hadn’t specifically asked to focus on these creatures, I wouldn’t have been able to sense them.”
“Oh, yeah. Ethel told me that they are meant to be, uh, stealthy. Like elusive to the senses,” Ben added.
Kieran’s eyes opened wide, brows raised. “Their life essence is very… peculiar. I don’t think I’ve experienced something quite like this before.” He faced Ben with a contemplative gaze. “I understand you have a fairly decent perception. What do you feel when you try to sense them?”
Ben tried to recall what he had perceived before subjugating the horde, yet he couldn’t remember ever feeling their presence. “Well, apart from the feeling of unease… nothing. But now, with my concept, I see them as dim lights, less intense than I expected, to be honest.” He paused. “Ah, the Priestess also told me that they were possibly made by the Champion of Ruin —supposedly one of the Matrons.”
“Interesting... That seems like pertinent information,” he frowned at Ben. “Very well, I should be able to detect any living beings within the limits of the cantrip’s range, and now that I know what I’m looking for, I should be able to sense more of these creatures as well.” He gestured with an open palm for Ben to continue.
“Okay. Could you pull up some of those bone walls to protect our flanks if possible?”
“Certainly,” said Kieran.
“Good. June,” he said, turning to the Evoker, who shimmied closer and smiled coyly.
“Yes, Benny?” she exaggerated, batting her eyelashes. “Point me at the baddies you want to turn to ash.”
Ben forced a smile. “Yeah… well. I wanted to ask if you could, um, hold back a bit? Not ‘hold back,’ you know, just-”
June grimaced. Her playfulness evaporated as soon as it had come. “Got it,” she interrupted before muttering under her breath. “I was taken by surprise, okay?”
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Kieran, who looked the part of a handsome horned devil, placed a gentle hand on her lower back. “Ben, I believe June was caught unaware earlier… and instinctively responded with excessive force.” He faced June and gave her an assuring smile. “I’m sure she will be more mindful now that we’re prepared for it.”
“Yeah, I mean, that was pretty impressive, either way.” Ben chewed his lip and nodded as the thought of the tiny woman blowing a hole out the side of the mountain brushed his mind. He shivered. “Right, okay. I’ll lead and send in the Faceless ahead of us. Hopefully, we won’t have to deal with the assassins ourselves… And we don’t want to kill the Matron straight away.” He met Kieran’s gaze briefly. “Maybe incapacitate her.”
“What should I be doing then?” June asked. Gone was her cheerful tone.
“You’ll be behind me, with Kieran taking the rear. Hit whoever, or whatever, at a distance, but try to conserve your energy. We might need to go a bit deeper still. I’ll handle the ones that get close.”
The Evoker mimed a salute. “Aye, boss.”
Ben grinned and faced Kieran once more. “Defense and looking out will be your priority, but you think you can look out for any corpses to raise? I’m worried that these guys won’t be enough,” he said, pointing with a thumb to the ceiling.
“Understood. I’ll try to acquire thralls if the opportunity presents itself, yet my focus will be on defense.”
“Great. We’ll move slowly and push to where we think the Matron is.” Ben hesitated. “Look, guys… I think I should be upfront with you both.” He ran a hand through the locks of his messy black hair and adjusted his gambeson by pulling down at the midsection. “I have no idea what I’m doing. I can fight, sure, but I don’t know if this ‘plan’ will work out. Any thoughts or suggestions? Now would be the time.”
June sniffed, and Kieran smiled before speaking. “Nothing from me. As you may know, I have little to no experience in combat, being more of a scholar than anything else.” He placed a hand on Ben’s shoulder and gave him an assuring squeeze. “Your plan sounds as good as any I’ve heard. Trust yourself.”
“Gods… Daddy warned me of your type,” the Evoker scowled at Kieran. “Lead the way, bossman.”
The Apprentice Necromancer chuckled, and Ben grinned at the obvious chemistry the two shared. The young man reciprocated the gesture and placed a hand on both his companions' shoulders, the black halberd leaning against the wall next to the door.
“In we go?” he said before frowning and slowly turning to look at the thick, rusted chains that still barred their way. “Uh-”
“-I got it,” interrupted June. “I suggest you stand back,” she said as she raised a hand toward the iron handles of the door.
A buzz of electricity hummed in his ears as strands of pure-white hair began to float into the air. She faced Ben with eyes glowing an incandescent, pale blue. “I can also shout a word to make it look pretty sweet.” She grinned. “BOOM!”
Nothing. The Evoker’s grin faded, and her face wrinkled into a frown. Tiny sparks of electricity crackled around her small form as she tilted her head to look at her palm. “Oh… Okay, maybe not this time,” she said as she aimed her palm toward the door again, and a subtle wave of energy emitted from her in a pulse. A loud crack and a bright white light shone from June’s hand as a bolt of energy shot forth to slam into the door in a rain of splinters and iron shrapnel.
Kieran and Ben ducked and covered their faces with raised arms. A moment passed as the falling debris, propelled from the force of the magic, subsided; Ben lowered his arm to see the large, stout door completely missing from its hinges. Smoldering splinters of wood merrily hissed pale plumes of smoke in the area around the trio, and the pair of young men shared a glance —their mouths agape and brows raised.
“Ah, I’ll work on it,” said the albino woman sheepishly.
Kieran coughed and avoided her gaze as Ben nodded, speechless.
“Well, that’s, uh, good.” He began before exhaling and peering into the dark chamber ahead. “Let’s send them in first and see if there’s any resistance.”
Ben willed the Faceless to enter the nave through the entryway and watched as the swarm of terrors scuttled along the ceiling, funneling into the large, open room. After a few moments, the legion was out of sight, and he nodded to his companions to move. The party walked in single file after Ben had retrieved his halberd, the weapon held before him in a defensive stance.
They entered the dark nave, and after a few heartbeats, their vision adjusted to the relative darkness of the chamber. The chamber was massive. Its arched ceiling was roughly fifty paces above their heads, and the far end of the nave seemed to be twice as far from the entrance. Rows upon rows of dilapidated pews occupied most of the area; some of which were burned, and others destroyed in a diagonal line —as if something large had barreled through them. The walls were made of the same smooth black stone with no trappings or ornamentation he’d expected to be in a place of worship.
A glint of something metallic drew his attention to the opposite end of the room, where a large altar stood. He squinted in an attempt to see the source of the light, yet it was too far and too dark for him to make anything out. He glanced at the arched ceiling to see several chandeliers hanging from chains attached to solid wooden rafters, none of which were lit. There was a small door to the right of the altar, closed and similarly barred as the previous one had been.
“Slowly,” he said, indicating with a tilt of his head for the pair to follow. “Let me know if you see anything. The Faceless can’t tell me, so I must rely on your eyes.
Ben’s monstrous subjects scuttled silently through the broken pews on the walls, the rafters, and the ceiling towards the altar in the room. Covering as much ground as he thought was feasible without reducing their effectiveness as an overwhelming force.
June exhaled. “I expected a welcome. What’s going on?” she asked.
“Detect Life,” incanted Kieran, and after a pause. “Detect Fallen.” He frowned and cleared his throat after a beat. “Nothing living nor dead within twenty and thirty paces, respectively.”
“Okay,” Ben said, not looking behind himself. “Keep it up if you can.”
The group slowly advanced past the wreckage of broken benches and tables until they reached the center of the nave. A chill crept up the young man’s spine, and his eyes widened. He knew to trust his instincts as he frantically darted his eyes from the floor to the ceiling before them. Kieran snapped his fingers.
“There’s something…” he said softly, almost absently. “Something big… ahead.”
The party froze, and the sense of dread began to intensify. A chilling wail abruptly echoed through the dark chamber. The sound was eerily similar to the keening song he’d heard in Honeydew upon awakening in the bathtub in the Master Necromancer’s basement.
“A Champion of Illephrre has delivered himself for absolution.”
A voice moaned. The sound was that of one stricken with grief —mourning. Seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.
“You, Grave robber. You are not welcome in this holy place.”
Ben stiffened as a crimson ray of light blasted past the side of his head. Stunned. The beam was too fast to see. Too fast for him to react as the guttural cry of June caused his chest to tighten. He turned back to see his companion, his friend, fall to his knees. A smoldering hole, the size of a fingertip, wafted sickly black smoke from between his lifeless eyes —Kieran collapsed to the cold stone floor.